Published: Wednesday, November 6, 2013 at 8:18 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, November 6, 2013 at 8:18 a.m.

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"His passions in life were his daughter, music and fishing," said Harry Paterson of Mike Boone, a well-known Wilmington bassist whose face looked cheerful even when he wasn't smiling. "Whenever you saw Boone, you could expect a big hug from him."

Boone passed away in his sleep Oct. 6 after a show in Brooklyn, N.Y., while on tour with Sourvein, one of many bands he played with over the years. On Nov. 8-10 at Reggie's 42nd Street Tavern and Orton's, more than two dozen hard rock bands will play for BooneFest, which will raise money for Boone's young daughter.

Jennifer Long is spearheading the event, with the stated goal to channel "all the love this town has for Boone and shower it on his daughter."

Paterson played with Boone in the Harry Billy Boone Band during the mid '90s. The trio was born during jam sessions that took place after its members finished practice with other bands they were in. Their hard rock, supersonic blues soon got people pushing them to play shows.

Boone playing with yet another band wasn't a fluke, just his way. He played with Faceloss, Notch, Silver Judas, Swashbuckler, S.O.L., Ancient Spacecraft and others. At the age of 11, Keith Wrench of S.O.L. met Boone, whose family had moved in across the street; he introduced himself while Wrench was mowing the lawn.

Boone appreciated all music genres, occasionally playing in bands outside the heavier ones he's associated with. The numerous bands point toward a love of exploration, something that extended to touring.

"He loved it when we toured out West, to travel and play," said T.Roy Medlin of Sourvein.

Boone was a constant at local shows. Kyle Watts (Predecessor, Villain!) cited his support as "unmatched by anyone."

"To go to a show and not see him meant one of two things - he was playing a show elsewhere or there was another show going on and he couldn't be at both," Watts said.

James Russell (Reason to Ignite, Swashbuckler) met Boone at a show by old-school Wilmington hardcore band All Tore Up. They became best friends even while attending different high schools. Boone traveled from Hoggard to Hanover for graphic arts classes. There, they made their first band T-shirts and stickers. Boone is why Russell started playing bass.

"He was powerful and knew how to make everyone he played with sound amazing," Russell said.

Talking with Brad Ellington (Ironhead) and Charlie Smith (A Bottle Volcanic, Reason to Ignite) about Boone at Reggie's recently, we noticed an S.O.L. sticker above the bar - an all too easy metaphor for Boone's presence in local music.

"He always had passion for music," Ellington said. "I'll never forget shows at Orton's. Boone would be standing left of the stage or leaning up against a speaker, watching bands play."

Ellington described Boone as easygoing and genuine, and said he can't remember ever seeing him mad. Smith says the iPhone was made for Boone - he was always taking photos of himself with people.

"He surrounded himself with a lot of different people and brought them together at some point in time, especially recently," Smith said.

On what would have been his 40th birthday, a few days after his passing, there was a huge gathering at Reggie's.

"It was a great vibe," Smith said. "It brought (people) together that may have had beefs (with each other)."

Watts, a guitarist and singer, said he always let Boone hear his new music first.

"I have a final memory of Boone," Watts said. "We sat in my car and listened to what will be my newest record. He was smiling, rocking his head ... He could instantly find the root and grab hold of a song."

"There's people that can play music and be shown how to play music, and there are people that feel music," Ellington said. "Boone definitely felt music."

Ellington then told a story Medlin shared about Boone's last night in Brooklyn. The band had a great show, drank some beers and went to a friend's house in Brooklyn to bunk for the night.

Boone called to Medlin who looked over and saw him holding two thumbs up.

"Sold out show," Boone said, with a big smile on his face.

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What: BooneFest, a fundraiser for late Wilmington musician Mike Boone's young daughter